When he arrived at Sanford Stadium Saturday morning for the ubiquitous Dawg Walk, Georgia safety Richard LeCounte carried on his shoulder a rather menacing baseball bat.

The message LeCounte sought to impart to anyone who passed by was that No. 3 Georgia’s defense had come to play, but not to play around.

“The black bat is the hit stick,” said Lecounte, who recorded three tackles and had a fumble recovery in the second quarter. “I can’t speak much on it, but the bat solidifies everything about our defense – hard and tough.”

Gotta admit, I’m intrigued with the “I can’t speak much on it” part. What dark secret is LeCounte holding back? Deandre Baker sheds a tiny bit more light on the stick.

When asked about the “hit stick,” which LeCounte seems to think will one day stand alongside the “Savage” turnover shoulder pads in Bulldog mythology, Baker said, “That’s his personal hit stick. He painted it black and he earned it.”

I would pay good money to watch Kirby stroll into tomorrow’s presser toting that. The Coke bottle needs a buddy prop.

Troy — which is getting a $1.15 million guarantee for the game — leads Nebraska, 17-10, in third quarter. Last season, Northern Illinois beat Nebraska in a game for which NIU was getting an $820,000 guarantee.

As is the case every single season when the Ole Miss Rebels are about to face off against the Crimson Tide, the traditions, the narratives and the hatred are at the forefront. As “Bama Hate Week” turns into Bama game day, we’ve heard everything we could have possibly heard about the matchup. From nasty sheet signs aimed at Nick Saban and his family to Tide fans incessantly touting the 66-3 scoreline from last season over Rebel fans, it is quite a week to be a college football fan.

Among the madness, there is but one sentence that few have been brave enough to say: Nick Saban is an overrated head coach. Stay with me. I am perfectly willing to admit that Alabama would not have gotten to where they are currently without Saban’s tremendous recruiting talents that resulted in him having a dominant football team early in his career. What I am not willing to say, however, is anything that would make it sound like Saban is even close to being the greatest college football coach to ever live.

I can only imagine what an Alabama with a truly great coach would have done to Ole Miss in the first half last night.